


Flipping Pages, Flipping Time

by RaysReads



Series: Broken Puzzle Pieces [9]
Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: But you did the gods dirty, Especially my fav Dionysus, Grover (Percy Jackson) is a Good Friend, Im sorry uncle rick, Its very obvious whose my favorite, M/M, My interpretation of the greek pantheon, Powerful Percy Jackson, Reading the Books
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:46:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27618572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaysReads/pseuds/RaysReads
Summary: During the Winter Solstice of 1930, before world war II and the creation of the oath, two groups of heroes fall into the olympian throne room.One group are immortal heroes of old. Pulled from their whereabouts in 1930, they are there to learn about the future.The other group are heroes of the future, the strongest demigods to date. They are there to prevent anything like their lives from happening again.(I tried to write more powerful and less cartoonish versions of the gods, closer to my interpretation of mythology. But something about Zeus and Athena always gets by blood boiling. And I always favor Dionysus. You'll have to deal with it.)Follow my fanfiction tumblr to bug me for updates and see what im working on!https://writing-by-candlelight.tumblr.com/
Relationships: Aphrodite/Ares/Hephaestus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Apollo/Dionysus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Ares/Hermes (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Nico di Angelo/Leo Valdez
Series: Broken Puzzle Pieces [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2018884
Comments: 20
Kudos: 91
Collections: Characters Watch/Read Canon/Fanon





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes i know i blatantly erased the deities of dawn and dusk to give Helios something to do, ignore that.  
> Io is Isis (per the one myth that hints at thet) and that is why she's immortal. I dont bring that up bc the reaction to egyptian mythology and similar stuff would be too much of a mess to write.  
> A lot of this is based on OSP

Dionysus sighed and exchanged irritated glances with Apollo across the throne room. It was the winter solstice, the worst godly meeting of the year. He wasn't sure why exactly it was the worst but it always was.

It had nothing to do with Hades coming up from the underworld, of that he was certain. Hades contributed in fact some of the most important information each meeting, no it wasn't Hades’ fault that the gods fought over everything.

In fact the blame laid with a few gods in particular.

Zeus of course was always in the middle of things. He was paranoid, hotheaded, annoying and violent. He had no compromisation skills and everything had to be his way.  
As the youngest of Kronos’ children (and the one chosen by Rhea to rescue the rest of his siblings) he had an inflated sense of self and argued every matter.  
Being King didn't help matters and every decision was in favor of himself and his own power and not for the betterment of the people, mortal or otherwise.

Athena. Young and Self Assured and full of Pride. As the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy she had placed herself in a higher position than she deserved. She was tangled up in every little argument, believing her knowledge to be greater than that of even the oldest gods and goddesses.  
Compared to Aphrodite, who was the oldest of the pantheon (and someone she looked down upon and talked down to like a stupid child) she was an insect in the ways of importance and knowledge.

Hera was often the instigator of most problems and arguments. She didn't always mean harm but being alone with Zeus so long brought up old hurts. She resented Zeus for breaking their wedding vows, and though she loved her step-children, it pained her that her husband couldn't stay faithful to her. This never went well. 

Ares was also a cause of the neverending fights. His aura of war and strife fueled his family and made everything worse. It brought older hurts to the forefront and used every angle to make everything worse.  
This, of course, was not his fault and upset him greatly. He had no way to turn it off and often tried to avoid the meetings altogether.

Nevermind, Dionysus knew _exactly_ why the winter solstice meeting was the worst. 

Demeter was always pissy in Winter. And while she had accepted that Persephone would rather live in the underworld with Hades, it did nothing to brighten her mood.  
Hades was always gloomy over the Winter Solstice. Not because of the meeting, but because he wasn't that fond of olympus or his family after being denied an olympian throne. And now that he spent so much time in his domain it was physically painful to be away for long.

Apollo, who usually spent his time calming everyone with music and letting everyone know of impending prophecies, was too tired during the winter months. It became too cold for him to do much and the frost weakened him. So he only listened and let the fighting come to a level it wouldn't have with his musical mediation.

Artemis on the other hand was strongest over winter and her arguments with Aphrodite always went a little bit too far.

Everyone ran amok over winter and Dionysus was not happy.

He, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Hermes, had their thrones next to each other in a row. With Hephaestus and Ares nearby. While they weren't technically the most shunned, they were the most misunderstood.

Dionysus was about to lose his cool when the throne room fell dark.

* * *

The darkness disappeared before anyone had time to react. Two groups of people were jumbled in a big pile at opposite ends of the room.

On one side of the room was a mess of young men and women wearing chitons, and, in the case of the men, chlamys (a type of military cloak).

On the other side of the room was a pile of similarly aged men and women wearing various modern clothes.

Zeus found himself with an odd scroll in his lap While a stack of books rested by Hestia’s knees. The letter shimmered slightly with cosmic power and was completely black while the font was a glowing white. Recognizing the power it emanated, he read it aloud.

_Deities, Immortals, Demigods & Other, _

_I have sent you a series of 10 books to be read. You must know the future. Not to change it, as that is impossible, but so that you can prevent anything like it from ever happening again.  
You must learn from your mistakes and become better than you are currently.  
I have foreseen what happens if you don't. History repeated itself and the world came to its untimely and bloody end.  
Heed my warning Olympians, do not believe yourself to be perfect, for Hubris will be your downfall._

_Chaos,  
Lord of the Universe_

This calmed the olympians slightly and they put away their symbols of power.  
“Introduce yourselves mortals.” Hera declared with a blank face.  
The ancient heroes quickly stood and kneeled before the gods while the new heroes didn't even acknowledge them.

“You mortals dare disrespect us so? We are your superiors, bow!!!!” Zeus was furious and tried to force the strange Demigods to their knees with his aura. 

They did not yield.

Dionysus rolled his eyes and easily batted away Zeus’ aura with a flick of his wrist. “Now Zeus, they aren't our children yet. You can't force them to do anything. Now introduce yourself”  
Hades could’ve sworn he saw horns flicker in and out of existence on Dionysus’ head. While the 6 of the olympians not ‘in the know’ gaped in shock.

The Heroes of old went first.

“I am Nerites. Son of Nereus, the all knowing old man of the sea, and Doris, mother of the Nereids. I am the immortal deity of Shellfish.”

“I am Hippolytus. Son of Theseus, the founder of Athens, and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. I am Artemis' priest”

“I am Pandora, keeper of the box and Wife to Epimetheus.”

“I am Icarus, son of Daedalus and the immortal Husband of Helios.”

“I am Psyche, goddess of the soul and Wife of Eros.”

“I am Io, daughter of the river god and king of Argos. I am the Wife of a Pharaoh.”

They sat down in a circle on emerald green floor pillows and their differences became more apparent. 

Nerites had pale blue skin that faded to iridescent scales from the waist to the tip of his long fish tale. Scales could be found around his hairline, his elbows, collarbones, and the backs of his hands. He swum happily in a floating hemisphere of water and waved cheekily to Poseidon while winking at Aphrodite. Both gave him soft smiles in return.

Pandora had black hair that reflected red in the light that was kept in curls. Her skin was a strange shade of crimson, the jewelry she wore and the brooches on her black chiton were in the shape of question marks.

Hippolytus had skin so white and glittery it almost binded, a shade only possible in those who had died. His hair was wavy and like liquid mercury, and his eyes a vivid orange. Everything he wore was blinding white and silver.

Icarus was decked out in jewels, his skin a dark tan but giving off a golden glow. His hair was chocolatey and held a golden circlet with imagery of the sun.

Psyche was a lavender skinned goddess with hair a dark indigo, and periwinkle butterfly wings. She was floating on her cushion 3 feet above the floor (at the same height as Nerites), as her wings were too long to sit with the others.

Io had creamy smooth skin with a dark tan, and hair the same color as the soil along the Nile. She wore a traditional egyptian sheath dress with many shawls and elaborate makeup and jewelry.

The unknown heroes stood from their own cushions to introduce themselves.

“I’m Perseus Jackson, call me Percy. I'm a son of Poseidon.” He was a bit awkward with his introduction and shuffled a bit while spinning a shiny gold pen through his fingers.

“I’m Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, lieutenant of Artemis.” she gave a low bow towards her Lady, her lieutenants circlet glinting in the light, and failed to acknowledge the other Gods and Goddesses.

“Nico Di Angelo, son of Hades, Ghost King.” He held up his hand and shadows flickered from his fingertips before disappearing like smoke.

“I’m Grover Underwood. Satyr and Percy’s best friend.” He adjusted his rasta cap and smiled at Percy.

“I am Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares.” she was blunt and to the point and her spear crackled with energy.

“Heya! I'm Leonidas Valdez, call me Leo! Son of Hephaestus, firestarter supreme, and the boyfriend of the spoopy Ghost King over there!!!”

Dionysus inspected the campers with a calculating eye. They showed no respect to the gods even though they were their children. The only ones who received any amount of warmth were Hades, Poseidon, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, and himself.  
Then as one the children turned and bowed deeply to Hestia, who almost dropped her fire poker in shock.

(she didn't need one of course, but Hephaestus had made it for her. It was extravagant and bejeweled and she had almost put enough energy into it for it to be a new symbol of power)

“How dare you show respect to my sister but not to me! I am King here!”

The one who seemed to be the leader (Percy, he thought) glared at Zeus and stared him down with fury in his eyes. “After everything that's happened. That's been done to us in your names? You don't even deserve _acknowledgement_.”

Zeus turned red in fury and tried to strike Percy down with his Lightning Bolt, but nothing happened.

Dionysus laughed, full of schadenfreude, which caused the Demigods to turn to his side of the room and gape in shock.

The Deities on the left side of the room were exactly as they remembered, so they hadn't been surprised.  
Athena with her light grey chiton and hair in a crown of braids, staring full of disdain down at those she perceived as inferior.  
Poseidon with his chlamys of royal blue and calm smile, the smell of the ocean surrounding him like a cloud.  
Hera with her ornate wrap-around robes of white, a diadem glittering on her brow.  
Demeter with her skin tinted green and a throne made of interwoven trees, her glare boring into Hades skull.  
Artemis, forever a maiden, clad in furs and glittering silver, speaking in low tones with Hippolytus.  
Zeus with his eternal anger, gripping his Bolt so tightly his knuckles were white, the blatant disrespect making his beard crackle with energy.

The _right_ side of the room was completely different than what they were used to and was the cause of their shock.  
The Deities were the same but….

Aphrodite was still the most beautiful person in the room. She shifted between race and age and gender (or lack thereof) like a hologram. Something about her was always changing and shifting and she groaned in irritation and slight pain. Before they had arrived her body had finally (after 4 and a half hours) settled on the perfect combination of the aesthetic preferences of everyone present. It hurt to change her muscular, bone, and tissue structures so rapidly. She had no control over it.  
What was different about her was that her aura of power was the strongest in the room - suffocating even Zeus’ - and she didn't seem like the bubbly ditz they all knew. She looked stern and like a warrior queen, showing heretofore unknown strength. She struggled to pull her aura back to herself before giving up and waiting until her appearance settled.

Hermes seemed twitchy. Unlike his future self, he seemed to jerk and flinch and twitch and fidget every few seconds like something was pulling him somewhere. He seemed to want to leave rather badly and spun his caduceus aroundandaroundandaoundandaround. He'd stop every few moments and pull out a small wooden rectangle, checking it for something. Whatever he saw made him swear at times and he’d tug harshly at his dark blonde curls.  
He appeared as a young teenager, a stark contrast to his 30-year-old-future-self, and seemed to hover slightly above his throne - which he had curled up in like a small child or a cat. Every once in a while, Ares, who sat next to him, would, with a gentleness never seen before, carefully detangle his hands from his hair and do something strange with Hermes wrist that would see the small figure go limp and boneless, before once again tensing hard enough to snap around 10 minutes later.  
And the cycle started once more.

Speaking of Ares, the man himself seemed to be strangely weary. He held none of the bravado and cockiness he was known for. And the longer the fighting went, the more tired he seemed.  
He was still large and muscled, and took the form of a bald black man. He wore the traditional chiton garb required at every solstice meeting, though his was blood red and one-shouldered, fastened with a brooch inlaid with bloodstone and ruby and adjourned with vulture feathers.  
He seemed to not want to be there and glared at the ceiling often, carving little symbols in his throne made of broken swords, spears, guns, maces, and other weapons lost in battle.  
The fury between Dionysus and Zeus mounted and Ares slouched and sighed, exhaustion taking over his form.

Hephaestus took his Husbands hand and gave him a sad smile before grimacing and adjusting his position on his throne.  
The braces that went up his legs and back were uncomfortable and rubbed his skin raw but he had no choice, they were his only way to move. He continually built little objects while everyone talked but stiffened whenever Zeus said anything.  
He seemed lighter than he was in the future. They knew him as an embittered old man with a hatred of all ‘living organisms’. But here he seemed full of light and love and happiness, and he beamed as he leaned against Aphrodite and held Ares’ hand tightly.  
While his shoulders were at different heights and he wore uncomfortable braces along his legs and back, he seemed to be in pretty good shape otherwise, disregarding the heavy scarring along his body.  
His skin was a bit pale and he had one gnarly scar slashed diagonal across his face. His hair was short and spiky and he wore a burnt orange chiton.  
The other gods politely pretended not to notice when Hephaestus occasionally tensed, locked his jaw, and squeezed his eyes shut as a stronger than usual wave of his chronic pain hit him.

Apollo's look was a shock. He didn't look like a surfer frat boy any longer.  
His skin was sun kissed and millenia of literally being the sun had bleached his hair a pure white. It was choppy and uneven in the back, but chin length in the front and covered one eye. He was the most regal being in the room. He lounged gracefully on his throne of gold, woven with branches of his sacred trees and gems.  
His chiton was the color of the sunset; yellows and oranges and pinks and purples and blues. He wore a black belt studded with amber stones, and knee high obsidian gladiator sandals with a matching one-shouldered pitch black cloak(which he got away with as a substitution for the traditional chlamys).  
He seemed strict and cold and calculating, watching the events with narrowed eyes and a slight frown. He seemed every bit the god of prophecy he was meant to be.

Dionysus was what surprised them the most. They knew him the best out of the olympians, even better than their own parents, and he looked nothing like what he would become when he was exiled.  
He was lean and so androgynous that one couldn't tell his gender at all without asking. His violet eyes were bright and pulsed with an overwhelming power. His hair was long and curly and a purple so dark it was almost black, it fell over his face in wild tangles and ended mid back. He wore an intricately wrapped chiton made entirely of shards of amethyst that were melded so close together they seemed to make one whole slab. This was then sewn to a piece of dark purple fabric and made into a chiton so sparkly it seemed to be made of the stars themselves.  
Dionysus seemed to carefree, sipping wine from a jeweled goblet and holding his Thyrsus loosely, but underneath he was angrily ranting about the deities on the other side of the room.  
He was one of the most powerful here, wolf in sheep's clothing indeed.

“Enough!” he snapped at Zeus who was once again screaming at the assembled Demigods. “Lord Chaos has summoned us to read these books and so we shall! Or do you want to meet them?” when he was met with silence he smirked. “Hestia. If you will?”

As Hestia picked up the first book Apollo finally spoke, “I think we should learn a bit more about our newcomers. Who they are, when and where they came from...And maybe ask Lord Chaos about those of us who will have...problems...with staying here long.”

The Heroes of New looked at each other, “We literally can't say anything else about ourselves, Lord Chaos came to us and explained everything and we agreed to come here. But we have a silencing spell on us for anything that would be too spoiler-y” Leo was surprised that he had offered up the information but went with it.

“Alright then. I guess i’ll go.” Psyche said, “My name is Psyche and i was once a princess. Eros fell in love with me but I betrayed his trust, and in anger Aphrodite sent me to perform 3 dangerous trials. I had help to complete them and once I did death befell me and I died before being brought back as the goddess of the soul where I can be together with Eros for eternity. We have a daughter, Hedone, who is the goddess of pleasure, delight, and joy.”  
She smiled widely at the mention of her daughter and grinned at Aphrodite, with whom she made up eons ago.

“I’m Nerites, the god of shellfish.” there were some giggles, “Yes Yes how funny. I know I'm not a big shot god but be nice!” he smiled knowing it wasn't meant maliciously.  
“I'm the son of Nereus, the shapeshifting, prophetic old man of the sea. And Doris, the mother of Nereids. Yes I'm the only male offspring and I swear, every few years they decide to pop out another 50 Nereids.” he rolled his eyes good naturedly, “Anyway, when Aphrodite was still in the sea, just created from foam, I was her lover. We had a great relationship but I didn't want to leave the ocean with her, not even when offered wings (the ones she later gave Eros). In a rage she turned me into a shrimp.”

The New Heroes and Aphrodite's Husbands laughed at the chuckling Merman. Who then continued on.

“One of my sisters took me to Poseidon and begged him to fix me, which he did. After spending more time with him, I then became his lover. And became the palaces best Charioteer. Poseidon offered for me to stay with him in his palace forever, but I still didn't want to leave my family and turned him down, keeping my post as Charioteer. But soon someone claimed that i was better than even Helios and…..Helios turned me into a shrimp.”

Everyone laughed once more as Icarus grimaced, “I’m _so_ sorry for that.” But Nerites laughed and said it was fine.

“And that's it! Poseidon fixed me and I’ve lived under the seas since.” He smirked wryly, “though the gods do find it funny to turn me into a shrimp for the most minor of inconveniences.”

Once the laughter subsided Pandora began, “I bet you all know my story, but it was created by all the gods as a trick. Prometheus and Epimetheus were twin titans who were the representatives of mankind. They were the titans of foresight and hindsight respectively. Zeus took fire from man as a punishment and Prometheus, as foresight, knew this to be a bad choice and gave it back. Angered Zeus punished him by chaining him to a rock and having vultures eat his liver each day.  
Before he was captured, Prometheus warned Epimetheus to not take any gifts from Zeus as he wished to punish Man.  
Hephaestus then created me, the gods each blessing me with gifts and trying their best to make the perfect woman, a gender that had not been present among mankind before. I fell in love with Epimetheus, unknowing that that was what Zeus wanted all along.  
Zeus then gave Epimetheus a pithos - what is now falsely believed to be a box, but was a type of large jar - and told him never to open it. Knowing what Prometheus had said about Zeus’ gifts but being a titan of pure hindsight, he took it anyway and put it in our home.  
The thing was, Zeus’ gift to me had been infinite curiosity, and while I knew I shouldn't open the box, it was always doomed.  
I opened it and unleashed Zeus’ curses of illness and mortal lifespans and hurt and pain and death upon humanity. Now I am an outcast and blamed for it for eternity.”

She looked down in shame as the others glared at Zeus in hatred. Nerites hugged her and tried to comfort her best he could as they moved on. 

“I’m Hippolytus, son of Theseus and Hippolyta, the king of Athens and Queen of the Amazons. When I pledged my eternal life and virginity to my Lady Artemis, Aphrodite took it as a slight against her that I would wish to hunt by Artemis’ side forever rather than fall in love. She cursed my stepmother Phaedra to fall in lust with me in retribution. But once I turned down her advances she lied to my father and claimed that I forced myself upon her.  
Enraged, Theseus went to Poseidon and begged him to have me killed.  
Poseidon compiled without knowing why, and had me attacked with a sea monster which frightened my horses, who then dragged me to death.” He took a steadying breath, talking about his death at the hands of his father still hurt even millenia later.

Artemis took over then, “I would never let a hunter so faithful die in such a way, as such I brought him to Asclepius - the healer so good he could bring back the dead,” Hades growled as Nico glared hard enough for the room to drop a few degrees, Leo quickly wrapped him in his arms and whispered in his ear and the temperature was slowly restored, “Hippolytus was brought back and became my Immortal priest and I put him in a grove of willow trees that was home to my most ornate temple, and I spelled it so horses could never enter. There he became ‘King of the Grove’ and has ruled ever since.”

Thalia smiled at Hippolytus and her Lady before sending a slight glower at Poseidon for not checking his facts.

“My name is Io. I am the daughter of Inachus, the first King of Argos. He was a river god and the child of the titans Oceanus and Tethys. I had been a priestess of Hera before Zeus decided he wished to sleep with me. I refused and ran, but he conjured up a swath of storm clouds to hide us from his wife as he forced himself upon me.  
Hera found the mass of clouds suspicious and went to investigate. Zeus had transformed me into a cow so that Hera wouldn't catch him cheating, but the ruse failed as he had slept with many others as animals before. Hera then asked for the cow as ‘it was a very beautiful cow’. Having no reason to refuse because that would be suspicious, he gave me over to Hera. She then put me under the watch of Argus, the many eyed giant, so that Zeus wouldn't try anything.  
I was there for years before Zeus finally persuaded Hermes to try to free me. Hermes lulled Argus to sleep with the tale of the creation of Panpipes and slew him.  
Enraged, Hera placed Argus’ eyes on her peacocks, and had me chased by a Fury.  
I was chased all over the mediterranean unable to rest. I briefly met Prometheus and he foresaw that I would be the Ancestor to great Heroes. I am now the ancestor to many names such as Perseus, Herakles, and King Minos. I passed out on the banks of the Nile and Zeus, feeling guilty, begged Hera to let me go. She relented and I was once again Human. I decided to live in Egypt and there married a powerful Pharaoh.”

Io scowled at Zeus before turning to Icarus, the last of their number.

“I'm Icarus, son of Daedalus, and I am the immortal husband of Helios. My story is well known but here we go….  
My father and I needed to escape the Labyrinth where King Minos had entrapped us, so he fashioned wings of feathers and wax so we could fly away. He warned me that I shouldn't fly too high, as the heat of the sun would melt the wax on the wings, nor should I fly too low as the sea spray would weigh the feathers down, either way I would fall.  
But once we flew off, I saw the sun for the first time in many years, and enraptured with Helios’ beauty I flew too high. The wax on my wings melted and I fell to my death.  
Helios thought it was fascinating. A mortal sacrificing their life for something they loved, no matter how unattainable. So he brought me back and sequestered me away at his palace, and we fell in love, and we wed.  
Now that Apollo has control of the sun, Helios lights up the skies at dawn and dusk with the dragons that once pulled his chariot.”

Io frowned at her descendants' action, but smiled at Icarus’ new life. The eternal teen was draped in gold and jewels and glowed with happiness.

Hestia once again grabbed the book to begin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so Ive taken a tumblr post as a base for Dionysus' speech just an FYI.  
> Also I didnt get far bc worldbuilding.  
> I tried my best yall and im definitely making Ares/Hermes a thing, Are/Aphrodite/Hepjaestus will still be a thing but the relationship is very open bc Aphrodite has too much sexual energy for one or two exclusive partners and too much of it can be toxic. If she can sleep around (even by necessity) so can the others, though Ares does love Hermes, even if their relationship began bc Ares was the only one strong enough to drain his energy,

Hestia picked up the first of the books. It was title-less and leather bound with a large copper '1' embossed on the cover. She then read the title of the first chapter aloud:

**I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher**

"Really Percy? Can't you do anything by half?" Thalia rolled her eyes in frustrated amusement.

Grover scowled, "I tried so hard to keep her away from you but you just had to go and ruin it. And then you ran!" he removed his cap and scrubbed his hands through his hair in agitation.

Percy grimaced in apology, "Sorry man but you really freaked me out."

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Grover smiled to let him know there was no harm done.

**Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.**

"You got that right." Leo snorted

The immortal heroes didn't really know the struggles of halfbloods, as none of them were such, but they could all sympathize and Icarus held up a hand for a high five, having been tormented by King Minos who was a halfblood himself.  
Leo laughed and smacked their palms together while Io sighed in the long suffering way only those who have been tormented by gods could manage.

**If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

"Good advice for once Prissy." Clarisse gave him a nasty smirk, "Didn't know you could think."

Instead of being offended, Percy laughed loudly and brightly, giggles bubbling from his throat. "I wish i'd have given myself that advice to be honest."

"I wish I even had that option." Nico added with an eyeroll, "but no. Monsters were apparently a thing that existed."

"I feel that cuz." Thalia huffed.

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It’s scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

Icarus' hand flew to his throat where even after millennia his nightmares consisted of water forcing itself down his throat and melted metal and wax searing his shoulders where he now had thick, gnarly scars.

Psyche thought about her ribs that were once sunken in and rotting, how she was the creator of her own demise when she opened Persephone's box.

Hippolytus felt how tight the skin of his back was, how it was stretched over his bones, how his scalp was scarred. All from being dragged to his death, body ripped and torn, head bashed open.

Nico thought of his sister, he was older than her now. How her body was never found. How she sacrificed herself to right her wrong. A wrong she committed for _him_.  
He thought on his journey through Tartarus, 14 and alone. How he almost died so many times, almost boiled alive by the sweltering heat and ripped apart by monsters as old as time who ran on millennia of bloodlust and anger.

Leo could feel his throat clogging with smoke, could smell the fire as his mother burned, as he died in the sky, disintegrated by his own element.

Pandora remembers her brother in law strapped to a stone and wrapped in chains, constrained to an eternity of torture for doing what he believed was right. She visited once a week, just to see his liver be ripped out again and again.

Io could feel the heat of the Fury that chased her for years, feel the pain in her feet as she walked the Mediterranean.

Thalia rubbed her arms, the phantom feel of tree bark running along her skin. She could vividly picture her last stand upon Half-blood hill, hordes of monsters charging her way as her final breath powered the wards around camp.

Percy thought of the fall from the gateway arch as poison rushed through his veins. He thought of facing Ares at age eleven. He thought of the Pit Scorpion slowly killing him. He thought of the weight of the sky and how it steadily crushed him. He thought of the hundreds of monsters in Daedalus' Labyrinth, the Titan Army invading camp half-blood, standing side by side with Clarisse battling Deimos and Phobos, fighting the bronze dragon with Charles. He remembered escaping the Princess Andromeda, bathing in the river Styx, fighting Typhon and the Titans and hundreds of monsters in the middle of downtown Manhattan.  
He remembered Bianca di Angelo, Zoë Nightshade, Lee Fletcher, Castor, Charles Beckendorf, Michael Yew, Silena Beauregard, Ethan Nakamura, Luke Castellan... and the dozens of other campers, hunters, satyrs, and nature spirits who died or went missing during both battles.

And that was only the first Great Prophecy.

The mood had gotten somber, even the gods felt guilt at what their children must face, so Hestia continued on.

**If you’re a normal kid, reading this because you think it’s fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.  
But if you recognize yourself in these pages – if you feel something stirring inside – stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it’s only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they’ll come for you.  
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.**

"Thanks Percy. It's a bit too late for that." Clarisse said, sarcasm biting her words and making them playful.

"Well Clarisse, I'll try to get there earlier next time." He smirked.

**My name is Percy Jackson.  
I’m twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.  
Am I a troubled kid?  
Yeah. You could say that.**

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one!" Grover let out a braying laugh that the rest of the Demigods who knew Percy joined in on.  
Percy pouted, "Wow guys, thanks for the support."

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan – twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.  
I know – it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were."**

"The struggles of ADHD and Dyslexia and a natural propensity for paranoia." Nico sighed, but not before Athena could bluster in anger.

"You should be grateful for the opportunities you've been given. Not everyone is able to learn." She wasn't yelling, just slightly upset. But Hestia quickly stepped in.

"That's not what they meant, niece dear. You don't have the struggles that they do. And even then not everyone enjoys your domain."

Leo smiled at Hestia gratefully as Athena deflated in understanding.

**But Mr Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.  
Mr Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn’t think he’d be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn’t put me to sleep.**

Clarisse threw a knife at Percy's head, which he deftly caught without looking. When he finally looked at her she questioned him with her eyes, to which he nodded. Smirking, she looked away. She _knew_ it was Chiron!  
Percy tossed the knife back, never noticing the looks of awe from the old heroes and some of the deities.

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn’t get in trouble.  
Boy, was I wrong.  
See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn’t aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway. And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that… Well, you get the idea.  
This trip, I was determined to be good.**

"Oh, you're like me aren't you?" Icarus laughed in mirth. "Trouble follows you wherever you go."

"Yeah, I can never escape it. I blame fate. No one ever leaves me alone." He said it as a joke, but the undertone of anger and bitterness was strong. It made Icarus' laughter fade quickly and submerged the room into uncomfortable silence.

Apollo frowned, before a surge of power hit him. He bolted up from his relaxed slouch and his eyes glowed an eerie green, bands of green smoke encircling his wrists and throat. His head tilted back and his mouth opened in a silent scream.  
Dionysus and Artemis immediately sprung into action, Artemis using her link with her twin to soothe his mind while Dionysus kneeled at his side and grasped his hands, working his chaotic and lawless domain to destroy the order of Apollos magic.

Once Apollo was freed from his domain of prophecy, the magic sputtered out and he collapsed upon his throne like a puppet with its strings cut. He thanked his sister and his husband before turning to the heroes.  
His eyes locked on Percy's, eyes full of hundreds of years of love and loss and worship. The foresight and hindsight granted to him by being the avatar of prophecy suddenly made him seem older than even Kronos or Gaia, his eyes pierced his as eons of pain gripped his soul.

"Perseus Jackson, the fates have granted me the knowledge of the Prophecies you must face in your time. And I am truly sorry for the pain the gods have caused you. Something has happened to the gods in your time, and while I have not yet been granted the knowledge of what, I do promise that none of us would act in any way similar to the versions of us you know."

Percy seemed wierded out by this serious version of Apollo but took his words to heart, and the tense atmosphere seemed to relax a bit. 

As that happened, Apollo and Dionysus locked eyes, and with a grimace and nod from Apollo, Dionysus lunged foreward with palms of purple fire and gripped the sides of Apollos skull and _saw_. His lit up with violet flame, his domain over insanity and the mind and his link to his husband allowing him into his mind to see.  
He let go, leaning forehead to forehead with Apollo, both grimacing before exchanging a heated kiss. Dionysus then vacated his throne and sat on Apollo's lap.

"Are you two together?" Nerites, as someone who was both reckless and fearless (you had to be to date both Poseidon _and_ Aphrodite), asked. He rested his arms against the edge of his hemisphere of water and splashed his fishtail.

Dionysus laughed loud and clear, "Together?! Well that's one way you could put it. We've been together since the dawns of time, since I was Zagreus, and Helios still ruled the skies. Your Mortal definitions of 'marriage' and 'love' cant grasp the relationship of those who have stood side by side for millennia, who have fought for each other, _died_ for each other. I have loved this man since he took his first breath. Since seeing Apollo's visions, I understand that time has seemed to warp your understanding of us. I cannot let that stand.

"Apollo isn’t the god of rock n roll stars and ‘bad’ poetry. That’s Me.  
Apollo is the god of ballet, of studied poetry, the kind that has rules and form while I am poetry that says ‘fuck you’ to all that and scribbles on a page.  
Apollo is the god of ballet, a type of dance so grueling and studied that there are schools recognized for their discipline all over the world. I'm the god of breakdance and dubstep, not because they're any less hard but because it was born on the streets and taught there still.  
Apollo is the god that showed Michael Angelo wisdom while I drove Van Gogh to paint a night with stars no one had ever seen before and who drove Pollock mad with drink and who showed Dali that dreams could be painted.  
Apollo might have inspired Mozart to learn piano and read music but it was I who drove him mad with creation.

"We are two sides of a coin, of art and genius, of academia and empirical learning.  
Apollo is the god of rational thinking and order, appealing to prudence and purity. On the other hand, I am the god of irrationality and chaos, appealing to emotions and instincts.  
The Greeks did not consider us to be opposites or rivals, we were often entwined by nature.  
In fact, my temples were always built next to Apollo’s as you cannot have one without the other.  
And that is the way it will be until the humanity forgets us and the earth crumbles to dust and we eventually fade. But yes, you could say we're _together_."

Apollo smiled weakly at his husband, still tired from the power he had used, and grasped his hands tightly as Dionysus kissed him. Aphrodite sighed at the pure love coming off the pair, as Hephaestus leaned into her side and Ares absently kissed her cheek as he pulled even more energy from a twitching and wound up Hermes.

Everyone gaped at him in shock. That speech was the most he had ever spoken, and the most fiercely and eloquently he had defended something.  
Dionysus nodded to Hestia to continue before anyone asked any questions.


End file.
